Thursday, January 17, 20134-star WR set for Ohio State visit
By Damon Sayles

While Ohio State is hoping to lure one Texan away from Oregon in ESPN 150 running back Dontre Wilson (DeSoto, Texas/DeSoto), another Texan said he will make a visit to Columbus, Ohio, to see if it’s a good fit for the future.

Former Texas Tech commit Devin Lauderdale (Houston/Bellaire) said he has recently picked up an offer from Ohio State and added that he will visit the schoool this weekend. Lauderdale, who has watched his stock rise over the past couple of months, is the No. 45 receiver in the country and is ranked No. 46 in Texas in the 2013 recruiting class.

Lauderdale, a four-star wide receiver, said Buckeyes offensive coordinator Tom Herman met with him and told him about the opportunity during an in-home visit on Wednesday.

“I’m going on Sunday and staying until Monday,” Lauderdale said. “I just want to see the environment and see if I like it or not.”

Recruited by Herman, Lauderdale said the Buckeyes are interested in him playing receiver, even though he’s been a two-way athlete on the high school level. While Lauderdale caught 27 passes for 583 yards and nine touchdowns as a receiver, but he also excelled as a defensive back as well as a kickoff and punt returner.

Lauderdale is looking forward to the Columbus visit and seeing the famous Ohio Stadium, which seats more than 102,000 fans.

“It’d be crazy to play there,” Lauderdale. “I know they have some crazy fans.”

Following the Ohio State visit, Lauderdale said he plans on visiting Texas Tech the weekend of Jan. 25. Lauderdale decommitted from the Red Raiders last month, shortly after hearing coach Tommy Tuberville took the head coaching job at Cincinnati, but his interest was still strong -- and might have grown stronger when Kliff Kingsbury was hired as Texas Tech’s coach.

Lauderdale added that he is planning on announcing his decision on signing day. In addition to Ohio State and Texas Tech, Lauderdale claims offers from Alabama, Texas A&M, UCLA, Oklahoma State, Notre Dame and a host of other programs.